Further drop in Wirral unemployment figures (From Wirral Globe)

Further drop in Wirral unemployment figures

10:44am Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News By Craig Manning

WIRRAL saw a further drop in the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance last month.

Office for National Statistics figures out today show that 7,859 people claimed the benefit in December compared to 7,942 the previous month, meaning a drop of 83.

The number of claimants in Birkenhead rose by four on the previous month, taking the figure to 3,276.

Wirral South had a drop of 16 to 1,017 while there were 2,623 claimants in Wallasey, a reduction of just two from November. The number of Wirral West claimants fell from 1,012 to 1003.

Cllr Pat Hackett, cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, said: "Latest figures show that Wirral has the lowest rate of JSA claimants in the Liverpool City Region at 3.9%, this also outperforms the North West average which is a real achievement.

"There has also been a monthly reduction in the number of young people out of work which outperforms the regional and national averages.

"This is positive news, and shows that our work to support local businesses through Wirral’s ambitious Investment Strategy is making real progress in creating jobs and helping businesses to grow."

The ONS reports that, nationally, almost 30 million adults were in a job in the quarter to last November, up by more than half a million on the previous year.

Unemployment fell by 37,000 in the latest quarter to just under 2.5 million, the lowest since spring 2011.

It was the 10th consecutive fall and was coupled with another cut in the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance, which was down by 12,100 last month to 1.56 million, the lowest since June 2011.

The number of people classed as economically inactive, including those looking after a relative or who have given up looking for a job, fell by 13,000 to just over nine million.

Commenting on the figures, Wirral West Member of Parliament Esther McVey said: "This is positive news for the Country, unemployment has fallen by 37,000 meaning unemployment is now at an 18 month low.

"This is the 10th consecutive fall coupled with another cut in the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance.  There are now more people in work under this government since records began.

"As promised at the General election we are rebalancing the economy and getting more people into work.  The Government has also introduced the first tailored work support programme.

"So this is positive news, and we of course appreciate that there is always more work to be done, but this news should be welcomed by everyone."

Wirral South MP Alison McGovern commented: "While these figures are mildly encouraging, unemployment in almost all age groups in Wirral remains way above the national average.

"However, long term unemployment remains stubbornly high, with an increase of 63 per cent on this time last year.

"Tory Ministers are failing people, who through no fault of their own, cannot find a job after 12 months of searching. They seem content to leave them on the dole and forget about them.

"That is why we need Labour's compulsory job guarantee to help hundreds of long-term unemployed people in Wirral back into work."

Wallasey MP Angela Eagle said: "I welcome any fall in unemployment. However, in terms of numbers we are 190th out of 650 highest unemployment in the country.

"Youth unemployment is another issue we are very concerned about.

"At the moment, it stands at 9.9%, which is above the national average of 6.8%. So, there's a lot more that needs to be done before we can look our young people in the eye and say things are good.

"There are areas of Wallasey, for example, where youth unemployment is high."